Mayak nuclear complex, Russia.

A truck arrives deep in the night at the site. The Russian guards at the gates are killed and the truck breaks into the complex with a Chechen commando in the cargo. The intruders reach the nuclear storage and disappear in the night with two boxes of Highly Enriched Uranium (EHU).

Humankind’s new nightmare begins.

World famous cryptanalyst Tomás Noronha is on holidays in the Azores islands when he is approached by Frank Bellamy, the head of CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology. Bellamy is convinced Tomás’ talents, especially his knowledge of Islam, are crucial assets to decipher a mysterious Al-Qaeda message recently intercepted by the CIA.

Ahmed ibn Barakah is a pious Egyptian boy. His mosque’s mullah, sheikh Saad, explains to the boy the peaceful, tolerant nature of Islam. Ahmed also attends a moderate madrassa in Cairo, but his new teacher for Islamic studies, a man called Ayman bin Qatada, introduces him to a new Islam, full of jihad and hatred for the infidels. Ahmed’s soul is fought over by his two teachers, the moderate Saad and the radical Ayman.

Ayman reminds him that Allah specifically tells believers in the Koran to “slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush (Koran, 9:5)” and quotes the prophet Muhammad as saying “I descended by Allah with the sword in my hand, and my wealth will come from the shadow of the sword. And the one who will disagree with me will be humiliated and persecuted.”

Ahmed will obey these divine orders.